Mach ines



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. PA LLS. TOP FLAT STRIPPING MECHANISM FOR GARDING MACHINES. No. 365,250. Patented June 21, 1887.

N. warms Pmwmm mm. Washington. 0. c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 2. A. FALLS.

TOP FLAT STRIPPING MECHANISM FOR GARDING MACHINES.

No. 365,250. Patented June 21, 1887.

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M/ ZQQ UNITED STATES ALONZO FALLS, OF LOXVELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND ALEXANDER G. CUMNOOK, OF SAME PLACE.

TOP-FLAT STRIPPING MECHANISM FOR CARDlNG-MACHINES.

EBPECIPICATEON forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,250, dated June 21, 1887.

Application filed December 18, 1886. Serial No. $321,997. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, may concern:

Beitknown that I, ALONZO FALLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Top-Flat Stripping Mechanism for OardingMachines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to top-flat stripping IO mechanism for carding-machines; and it consists in the improved means, hereinafter dc scribed and claimed, for imparting to the said mechanism while raising and stripping a top flat or flat-card a comparatively rapid motion and a slow motion while traversing from fiat to flat,said motions alternating with each other in order that the stripping operation (including the lifting and returning of the flat-cards to position) may be performed as rapidly as pos- 2o sible, and that the carding surface of such machines may be diminished by said operation for as short a time as possible.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of the inner side of the stripping- 2 5 cam gear, or gear provided with the camgroove which operates the stripping-arm, and the double driving-pinion which impels said gear; Fig. 2, a rear elevation of these parts and of the lifting-cam and of a part of the lift- 0 ing-rod; Fig.3, an elevation of the inner side of the lifting-cam and of the lower part of the lifting-rod, the pins of the lifting-rod and a part of the cam being shown by dotted lines; Fig. 4, an isometric View of a portion of the cardingmachine, showing the top-flats and the stripping mechanism, including the lifting and traversing devices of the same.

The frame A of the cardingmachine, the top-flats B, the main cylinder, the frame D of the stripping mechanism, the stripper-arm d, the stripper d, the traverse-pinion g, the rack G, with which said pinion g engages to traverse the stripping mechanism from flat to flat, the guard g, and pinion 9', both turning with said 4, pinion g, and the pinion E, which operates the stripping mechanism, are all of the usual construction and operation, the frame of the stripping mechanism swinging upon the shaft 0' of the main cylinder, substantially as shown in Patent No. 14,481, granted March 18, 1856, to George \Velhnan.

The pinion E engages with an intermediate gear, .E, in the usual manner, and to the gear E is ordinarily secured a single pinion, which drives the stripping-cam gear F, the latter being usually provided with teeth of uniform pitch entirely around its circumference.

To get the fast and slow speed mentioned above, I usea doublegeartha tis,a gear which has two pitches and two pitch-lines, each in a different part of the gear. The proportions of the numbers of the two sets of teeth of the stripping-cam gear should, in my judgment, be about as represented, but may be varied to suit circumstances. I have shown said gear F as provided with thirty-three peripheral or spur-teeth, f, of such a pitch that eighty-four such teeth would extend around the gear, and I provide said gear with twenty-eight parallel or face teeth, f, which project inward from the face of the disk of the cam-gear, said last named teeth being arranged in an arc concentrio with the periphery of said cam-gear, said sets of teeth being so arranged as to be in effect continuous with each other--that is to say, the two imaginary gcarsectors, which re spectively carry said sets of teeth, the spurteeth, and the faceteeth together form a complete circle.

The double pinion II, which drives the camgear, is shown as two pinions, h h, rigidly so cured to a common shaft, h", which is driven in the usual manner continuously at a uni form speed; but evidently these pinions h h might be cast in one piece. The pinions h h have an equal number of teeth, (eleven being shown on each pinion,) but have different diameters, different pitches, and differentpitchlines, the smaller pinion, h, engaging the spurteeth, f, of the can'rgear and thclarger pinion, h, engaging the face-teeth of said cam-gcar,the engagement of the pinions alternating, so that their common pinion-shaft, if, being continuously rotated, the cam-gear F is continuously rotated; but while the pinion-shaft h is uniformly rotated, the cam gear has an alter natel y faster and slower motion faster while the larger pinion h is in engagement with the faee-teeth,f, and slower while the smaller pin ion is in engagement with the spur-teethf.

The cam-groove I, which engages a stud, d projecting from the stripper-arm d in the usual manner, is of the usual shape, being concentric .wit-h the cam -gear throughout the greater portion of the length of said camgroove,and in this part producing no effect to move the stripping-arm, the effective portion z" of the cam-groove I being in engagement with the strippingarm only when the camgear has its faster motion.

The camgear F is provided with a third set of spur'teeth,f this set of teeth extending only partly around the cam-gear and engaging with the pinions 9 in the usual manner, the traverse-pinion g engaging with the pins of an arc-shaped rack, G, secured to the side of the frame of the carding-machine concentrically with the shaft of the main cylinder in the usual manner, the purpose of the traversepinion and traverse-rack being, as is well un-- derstood, to cause thestripping mechanism to move from one to another of the top-flats, in order that the same may be stripped.

A guard, g, is secured to the pinion g and turns with it, and when said last-named pinion is at rest is in contact with aperipheral flange on a cam-gear, the portion of the guard next the flange being concave to fit the same to prevent the traverse-pinion g from turning, and by the engagement of the't-raverse-pinion with the rack G to hold the strippingmechanism in the usual manner exactly in its proper position for raising and stripping the fiat being operated upon. The set of teethf are of course not in the same vertical plane with the spurteeth f, above mentioned, but are so arranged that the slower motion of the cam-gear and the traversing of the stripping mechanism are simultaneous with each other.

The lifting cam K, provided with the cam stripping, and lowering the top-flats to their positions to be begun after the cam-gear F has acquired its greater speed and to be completed before said cam-gear resumes its slow motion.

In order thatthe teeth may not require so great accuracy of construction, the teeth at each end ofeaeh set ofteethff may be different from the other teeth of the same set, the spur-teeth f f at each end of the set of teethf being of about half the length of the other teeth of the same set, and the end teeth, ff, of the setf ot' face-teeth being narrower at the outer side to enable the smallenpiuion, h,'and the larger pinion, h, more readily to be engaged with and disengaged from said spur-teeth and faceteeth', respectively 5 but the end teeth of each of these sets may, if the teeth are carefully constructed and properly located, be like the other teeth of the same set.

By the use of the pinions h h, spurteeth f, and face-teeth f I am enabled to secure the fast and slow motion without reducing the speed to such an extent as is required where segmental gears, adaptedto engage each other once in every revolution of their supporting gears, are secured to the intermediate gearand cam-gear,and without any labor of adjustment of the parts, because the pinions h h may evidently be cast in one piece and cannot both. 7

be in engagement at the same time, so that the teeth of said pinions, being arrangedalternately with each other, it is'ouly necessary to engage the compound pinion h h with any part of the double gear and they will work properly togetherwithout any jar or shock when the pinions h h pass into and out of engagement, because the pinions are complete and not segmental.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the main shaft, the supporting'frameswinging on said shaft, the cam-gear provided with a stripping-cam groove and with two sets of gear-teeth continuous with each other, said sets having different pitches and pitch-lines, and two pinions rigidly seeured together concentrically with each-other, one of said pinions having a pitch and a pitch-line to correspond with one set of said gear-teeth and the other of said pinions having a pitch and a pitch-line which corresponds with the other set of said gearteeth, the stripper-arm provided with a stripper and with a projection which engages with said stripping-cam groove, the lifting-cam turning with said cam-gear, the lifting-rod provided with pins to engage said lifting-cam, and means, substantially as described, of giving to said pinions a continuous and uniform rotary motion, the traverse-rack, the traversepinion engaging said'rack, and another pinion secured to said traverse-pinion and engaging a third set of teeth, with which said cam-gear is provided on a portion of its periphery, said sets of teeth on said cam-gear being arranged, as described, so that said cam-gear and said lifting-cam are rotated at a greater speed while said lifting-rod is being raised and while the stripper is being operated, and at a less speed flat to flat, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination of two concentric pinions. having different diameters, different pitches, and different pitch-lines, and rigidly secured to each other, and the gear provided with a set or row of spur-teeth, and provided also with a set or row of face-teeth,the smaller of said pinions engaging with said spur-teeth and the larger pinion engaging with said facetceth alternately with each other, the end teeth of said row of spur-teeth being shorter when the stripping mechanism is moving from than the other teeth of said row and the end teeth of said face-teeth being narrower at the outside to enable said smaller pinion and said larger pinion more readily to engage with and to be disengaged from said spur-teeth and face-teeth, respectively, as and for the purpose specified.

3. The combination of the main shaft, the support-ingframe swinging thereon, two concentric pinions having different diameters, different pitches, and different pitehlines, and rigidly secured to each other, and the camgear provided with a eanrgroove and with a set or row of spur-teeth, and provided also with a row of face-teeth, the smaller of said pinions engaging with said spur-teeth and the larger of said pinions engaging with said faceteeth alternately with each other, the end teeth of said row of spur-teeth being shorter than the other teeth of said row and the end teeth of said face-teeth being narrower at the outside than the other faceteeth to enable said smaller pinion and said larger pinion more readily to engage with and to be disengaged from said spur-teeth and face-teeth, respectively, the stripperarm provided with a Stripper and with a projection which enters sa d cam-groove, the lifting cain turning with sand cam-gear, the lifting-rod provided with pins to engage said lifting-cam, means, substantially as described, of giving to said pinions a continuous and uniform rotary'motion, the traverse-rack, the traverse-pinion engaging said rack, and anotherpinion secured to said traverse-pinion and engaging a third set of 35 ALONZO FALLS.

Vitnesses:

GLAIRENOE N. OIIILDs, CHARLES C. Hnnmcn. 

